The BCB has requested its Afghanistan counterpart to postpone next month’s white-ball series in Greater Noida, and asked for the games to be played as soon as “the two boards find a window”, ESPNcricinfo has learnt.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had proposed three ODIs and three T20Is in late July, sending the BCB match dates – between July 25 and August 6 – too. It was a revised schedule after the tour initially also included two Tests.
The BCB felt that the weather in that part of India at that time wouldn’t be ideal for an international series. June to September is usually considered off-season in the subcontinent because of the monsoons. The BCB had earlier postponed the series keeping in mind the workload management of its players.
Bangladesh’s next assignment is a two-Test series in Pakistan from mid-August, the schedule for which hasn’t been announced yet. Many of the Test players will get busy playing red-ball matches ahead of this series as part of the preparations. They will play three internal matches in Chattogram and Sylhet, followed by four four-day matches against Pakistan Shaheens in Darwin and later in Pakistan.
Later, Bangladesh will also go to India to play two Tests and three T20Is from September 19 to October 12. It will be followed by two Tests at home against South Africa, followed by a full tour of the West Indies that includes two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is in November and December.
That workload is the reason why the BCB was always reluctant for the two Tests against Afghanistan. They had also postponed one Test against Zimbabwe earlier this year, turning that tour into five T20Is in May. Bangladesh will complete their World Test Championship cycle by December 2024.
